Buffy and Lidsey
by girlsreallyreign
Summary: When Buffy runs away to Los Angeles she meet Lindsey. One sided romance on his part.


Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy all of the credit goes to Joss Whedon and the TV show creators. This is my first ever fan fiction so please be nice. Constructive criticism is welcomed, compliments are loved, and flames are just not very nice. I don't actually ship Buffy and Lindsey I just thought this sounded interesting. Please enjoy.

Lindsey walks down the grimy street wincing as his stiff muscles begin to shoot with pain, he had just finished a long meeting with a demanding client. His stomach growls, him having had no food all day, being stuck in a boring but important meeting. He passes a partially ajar door and smells a waft of burgers and backsteps, his stomach growling. Helen's Kitchen. Knowing the location of the restaurant the food was probably nothing special, but the hunger in his stomach made the decision for him and he pushes the rusting door further open and steps inside. The diner looks like a typical all American diner, and Lindsey draws a few strange looks due to his formal attire from the occupants of the near deserted room and follows the aging waitress to one of the few clean booths left in the small diner. He picks up the greasy menu and studies it with a certain distaste, do they ever clean these? He feels a tingling sensation travel up his spine and looks up from the menu and sees a young girl standing before him who couldn't have been more than sixteen years old. What was she doing here? Her short blonde hair was pulled into pigtails, giving her a further appearance of youth, but her sad hazel eyes ruined the affect and showed signs of recent tears. Her name tag reads Anne.

"What would you like to drink Sir?" Anne asks with sadness creeping through her voice that seemed to fill the space around her and consume her.

"Unsweet tea," Lindsey answers looking at her with a sense of fascination, he had never studied another with before now.

"Right away," Anne answers emotionlessly.

She turns and walks to the order window, and Lindsey watches her retreating figure, he felt connected to, even drawn to the young waitress, there was just something about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

A minute later Anne returns with the chilled beverage and sits it gently in front of him with a certain inherit grace to her movements.

"Do you know what you want to eat Sir?" Anne asks pulling a notepad and pencil out of her checkered apron.

"I would like a burger with a side of fries," Lindsey says to her, watching as she scribbles the words down and walks back to the order window, handing the page off to the cook in the back.

Lindsey sits calmly in the booth watching Anne move through the other patrons, refilling the drinks of the few remaining patrons. A few minutes later she comes back holding a steaming plate and sets it before him along with a check. Her name was Anne Merrick. Although that was most likely a fake since she did not look old enough to be alone in a city like Los Angeles. While eating he watches as she cleans the other tables since the sign said they closed in ten minutes. The food was just as he expected and he laid a ten dollar bill on the check, that left a sizeable tip for Anne. She walks back over raising an eyebrow slightly at the ten dollar bill, as she begins to walk back to the cash register he makes a move.

"Can I walk you home?" Lindsey asks.

She looks surprised and confused but nods as if unsure, he smiles reassuringly at her and she turns away. He munches the rest of his fries down lazily watching the young Anne move about cleaning long after the other patrons noisily departed. Around twenty minutes later Anne had come back to the table wearing a mans leather coat that practically dwarfed her petite frame.

Lindsey stands up and follows her as she walks toward the exit and he holds the door open for her and as she passes beside him to exit the diner he smells a faint aroma of vanilla, the smell does not seem artificial and she did not seem the type to spend her precious tips on perfume, so it was a natural scent. It appealed to him. He follows her out and watches as she locks the door with a rusting key which then she slides into her apron. He holds his arm out to her and sees her hesitate before accepting it. They walk in comfortable silence before halting outside of a crumbling apartment area in an even worse area of the city that made Lindsey wonder how she had made this walk safely every night. He holds the door open for her and follows her in and she wraps her arm back around his without hesitation and they walk to the doorway that says stairs and climb what he thinks must have been two flights before they finally exit on one of the landings. They stop outside of a fading red door that says 217,she turns to her door and begins to unlock it and then slowly turns back to Lindsey.

"Why did you walk me home?" Anne asks looking up into his eyes, her own shining with suspicion.

"You interest me," Lindsey answers simply, although still not sure himself.

"That's it?" Anne questions.

"That's it," Lindsey answers and she seems to accept this.

"Can I at least get your name?" Anne asks him.

"Lindsey," He answers wondering why she had a nostalgic look on her face.

"Pretty name," She answers simply before entering her apartment and closing the door behind her without looking back.

Lindsey walks back to the staircase, but before entering he turns back to the door and smiles.

…..

Thus begins a cycle, Lindsey would arrive at the diner and eat, he would walk her back to her room, few words were traded between the pair, but there was a connection there Lindsey was sure, he felt as if he knew her.

…..

Gunn scowls as five vampires encircle him. There was only supposed to be one vampire living in this alley, but now he was fighting five vampires with only one stake. They are closing in leering unpleasantly at him, when one of them explodes in a cloud of dust and if the situation wasn't so dire, Gunn would have laughed at the look of shock on his face. A figure enters his range of vision, and he is shocked to see that it is a petite, young, blonde girl holding a crooked stake.

"Slayer," One of the vampires hisses at her. What's a Slayer?

"Slayee," She shots back with a faint smile on her face.

Three use classic villain logic and charge at her separately and she easily dusts them. The last one seemed to have more sense than his compatriots and he grabs a trash can and hurls it at the slip of a girl. She kicks it back at him and it slams him into a wall, The trash can having a huge dent in side now. Gunn stakes the incapacitated vampire, who promptly dusts.

"Who are you?" Gunn asks the blonde in suspicion, knowing that no human could kick the trashcan back like that and the vampire had called her Slayer.

"I might ask you the same question," She shoots back eyeing the stake in his hand.

"How 'bout we talk 'bout this someplace else," Gunn tells her pocketing his stake, watching as she does the same.

"I have to get to work," The girl says to him, before turning and walking off.

Gunn falls into step next to the blonde, intent on gathering information.

"Why did he call you Slayer? What is a Slayer?" Gunn asks her persistently.

"A vampire hunter such as yourself doesn't know. How novel," The blonde says humor creeping into her tone.

"Well, fill me in," Gunn says in impatience.

"In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer," Buffy finishes remembering all of the times she had been told a variation of that speech.

"So your the Slayer," Gunn says in shock that such a young girl could be what she had just described.

"I used to be," The blonde says with sadness coating her words.

"What do you mean?" Gunn asks in confusion.

The blonde doesn't answer but continues to walk on, and Gunn just walks off determined to find more later. Unknown to him the blonde sits down on the nearest park bench and sobs into her hands, for a long while before shakily getting up and heading to her job.

…..

Lindsey looks up from the grubby menu he had been handed as the door chimes and Anne walks in, and Lindsey notices her eyes show signs of heavy tears. She seems to be in a daze, while doing her duties.

…..

After she had closed up shop Lindsey offers his arm to her and she accepts it and leans her head against his shoulder. He could feel the warmth from her seeping through his suit. They walk in silence until a man Lindsey instantly recognizes as a vampire jumps in front of them. Lindsey makes to move Anne behind him, but sees her draw a stake out of her jacket and carelessly stab it in the heart, and pocket the stake once again. How had Anne done that? She collapses to her knees sobbing uncontrollably in utter despair into her hands, Lindsey bends to his knees and easily lifts her into his arms where she continues to cry into her hands. Lindsey tries to calm her down but she just continues to cry, her tears making her small form shake, he continues walking, since his apartment was only a few miles away and he walked here anyways.

…..

Lindsey carefully maneuvers his key into the lock, and pushes his door open with his foot. He carries her inside and sits her on the couch, where she curls into a ball still sobbing. He hesitantly leaves her side and walks back to his open door, and proceeds to close and lock it. He rushes back to her and sits back down next to her. She curls into his side with her face buried in his neck. Her tears sliding down his neck and soaking his color, with her hot breath against his neck. He wraps one arm around her and holds her hands with his other. A little bit later her sobs had subsided, and now she just had a steady stream of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I suppose you'll be wanting an explanation," Anne sighs.

"That would help. But It might help you to know that I am already aware of the supernatural," Lindsey tells her.

"Yes that does help. But where to begin?" Anne says in sadness.

"How about the beginning," Lindsey suggests soothingly.

"My name isn't Anne Merrick. It's Buffy Anne Summers. I'm the Slayer. I'm seventeen. I was living in a town called Sunnydale with my mom, and wanted nothing to do with the supernatural, but Sunnydale is on top of a Hellmouth. Ironically I fell in love with a vampire, but he wasn't an ordinary vampire he had been cursed with a soul. But his soul had a catch, if he ever experienced a moment of perfect happiness than he would lose his soul and revert back to the monster he had been. After experiencing a moment of perfect happiness he killed my teacher and many others and then opened a portal that would suck the world into hell. The only way to close the portal was if he went into it, I was just about to throw him in, when one of my friends who is a practicing witch managed to restore his soul. I kissed him and threw him into hell, to suffer for all of eternity, for crimes he hadn't committed," Anne finishes sobbing even harder than before.

Lindsey marvels at the strength of the girl, she had been called for something she had never wanted, and fallen in love before having to kill the person she loved. She was only seventeen years old.

Lindsey cups her face in his hands brushing the tears off her face with his thumbs.

"You were given a choice between what was right and what was easy and you chose what was right and gave up everything. We would all be in a hell dimension without you," Lindsey tells her softly.

"I don't know what I would do without you Lindsey," An- Buffy tells him. Buffy seemed to fit her better.

He leans back resting his head on the arm of the couch and she lays her head on his chest and rests her hands on his stomach. He lays one hand on top of hers and the other he wraps around her. Long after she had fallen asleep, Linndsey lay stroking her hair and back with his hand, smiling down at her. In her sleep, without her sad eyes open Lindsey could truly see how young she was, she looked younger than seventeen.

"Buffy I promise I am going to take care of you," Lindsey whispers soothingly into her ear.

…..

Lindsey after much convincing managed to get Buffy to move in with him. He also found a better restaurant for her to work at, since she refused to just sit around all day. After awakening to her sobs for three nights, he insisted that she sleep in his room next to him, and that seemed to help her.

…..

After helping free slaves from a demon dimension she felt ready to go home.

She stood outside of the bus with Lindsey by her side holding her bag.

"Lindsey I don't think I would be alive if it weren't for you," She tells him cupping his face gently, her fingers absentmindedly stroking his hair and the sides of his face.

"Buffy. Here," He tells her handing her a phone. "A secure line, you already know I don't work for the best people."

"Lindsey, it doesn't matter. You are a good man, and I trust you," Buffy tells him pocketing the phone.

She leans in and hugs him tightly and he hugs her right back, his chin rests on her head. She then looks up hesitantly into his eyes and for the first time he sees uncertainty in her gaze. She stands up on her toes and lightly brushes her lips against his own. Then she moves back to the flats of her feet smiling warmly up at him.

"Good-bye Lindsey," She tells him before picking up her bag and running into the bus without looking back.

"You are such a cute couple," An elderly woman tells him softly.

"We aren't a couple," Lindsey says after a moment's hesitation.

"Could have fooled me," She says smiling before walking off.

Lindsey reaches up to his lips and runs a finger over them smiling, before walking off.

…..

Willow looks at her friend and smiles. After mending their friendship she wanted to hear everything that had happened. She sits on Buffy's bed as she unpacks her bag, she had offered to help, but Buffy seemed to want to do it on her own. Buffy pulls out a mans shirt and hastily puts it in the closet, blushing furiously.

"Buffy, spill," Willow says as Buffy sits next to her on the bed.

"He's a friend," Buffy says quickly.

"And does this friend have a name?" Willow asks scooting closer to Buffy's side.

"Lindsey," Buffy says blushing.

"Why do you have your… friends shirt?" Willow pushes.

Buffy says nothing, and Willow just smiles.

…..

Lindsey picks up his ringing phone and sees the dialer, it was Buffy. He smiles. She and he had talked to each other almost everyday, since she had left Los Angeles.

"Hey Buffy," Lindsey says smiling.

"Lindsey I don't know what to do!" Buffy says desperately.

"Buffy slow down. What's wrong?" Lindsey says to her soothingly.

"He's back! Angel is back!" Buffy says.

"Buffy what do you mean?" Lindsey asks urgently.

"I found him! He's feral! No one knows. Giles says that he would have spent centuries in a hell dimension," Buffy says to him frantically.

"Buffy. Angel is strong willed. Give him time. Talk to him, tell him stories. Buffy I can come down if you need me to," Lindsey tells her reassuringly.

"It's ok, but thank you for the offer Lindsey. I've Gotta go," She says suddenly hanging up.

Lindsey sighs.

…..

"Lindsey… Angel is moving to Los Angeles. You might run into him," The voicemail says sadly.

Lindsey leans back in his chair sighing.

…..

Lindsey looks up as the door opens and… Angel walks in. He is probably here for Winters. Not that he cared about Winters but it would not do for people to go around killing Wolfram and Harts clients.

"I'm with Wolfram and Hart, Mr. Winters has never been accused and shall never be convicted of any crime. Ever. Should you continue to harass our client then we'll be forced to bring you into the light of day. A place I'm told is not all that healthy for you," Lindsey finishes looking into the face of the man who had caused Buffy so much pain and suffering.

Lindsey just sighs as Angel shoves Mr. Winters out of the window and he informs his superiors.

…..

Angel looks as Lindsey opens his truck door.

"Oh, and Angel, send Buffy my regards," Lindsey says before slamming the door of his truck and driving away leaving a shocked Angel behind him.

…..

Lindsey picks up his phone and sees the dialer is Buffy, he smiles. He had not heard from her in a few days.

"Hey Buffy," Lindsey says.

"Is this Lindsey?" An unfamiliar voice asks tearily.

"Yes," Lindsey answers with a growing sense of anxiety.

"Buffy…. Sh- she's g- gone," The woman says sobbing.

"How?" Lindsey asks with tears streaming down his face.

"A Hellgoddess took her sister and opened a portal, the only way to close it was if Buffy or Dawn jumped in. Buffy jumped in," The girl who must be Willow finishes crying.

"When is the funeral?" Lindsey asks working to keep his voice even.

"Tomorrow night," Willow tells him sadly.

"I'll be there," Lindsey says before hanging up.

He stumbles to his bed and picks up the framed picture of Buffy from his nightstand. She was tucking a strand of hair behind an ear and smiling softly up at him. Soon he is keeled over sobbing.

…..

He walks up to Buffy's house and sees it is exactly as she described it to him. He knocks on the door and it is opened by a red haired girl, with green eyes. She was Willow, she showed signs of heavy crying. She was also wearing the leather jacket that was from Angel that Buffy often wore, she must be trying to hold onto a piece of her friend.

"Lindsey?" She questions.

"Yes," He says to her.

She holds the door open and he walks inside. She leads him into the living room and he sits down, and sees they are alone.

Willow had fallen asleep a while ago and Lindsey carefully moves her limp form off him and lays her down on the couch. He walks up the staircase and stops in front of Buffy's room. Her body was probably in there. He gently pulls the door and close his eyes, she was lying on the bed. He takes a deep breath and enters the room and silently closes the door behind him and opens his eyes again. She looks so peaceful that she could have been sleeping, he wished she was. He looks around the room he had only heard about, he moves to sit by her side and he grasps her hand and finds it cold to the touch. She was wearing a formal black dress and heels and had on two necklaces, one was a silver cross necklace that Angel had given her the first time they met, the other was her claddagh ring from Angel on a chain. He sees strands of hair out of place and carefully smooths them back, and finds a deep gash on her face that had been cleaned, he silently moves the hair back to cover the injury. He grasps her hand with both of his and cries.

…..

He stands beside Willow and she clutches his arm sobbing as Spike lowers her coffin into the freshly dug hole. Then another figure steps out of the gathering gloom. Angel.

"What are you doing here," Angel demands of Lindsey.

"I cared about Buffy," Lindsey says.

"Don't cause a scene dead boy," Xander hisses.

Angel silences and the funeral carries on with tears the only noises heard.

…..

The phone rings, and Lindsey sighs it says Buffy. Willow must be calling him, she had called him quite often sense Buffy's death, she seemed to take comfort in talking to the person that gave Buffy so much.

"Lindsey," no it can't be that sounds like Buffy.

"Who is this?" Lindsey demands.

"It's Buffy. I'm alive," Buffy says hollowly.

Lindsey hangs up and prepares to leave for Sunnydale immediately.

…..

Lindsey enters the house and sees Buffy sitting there.

"Buffy," He whispers.

She stands up and rushes into his arms.

"Lindsey," She whispers tearfully.

"What's wrong Buffy?" He asks cupping her tear stained face and smoothing the hair out of her face in the process.

"Lindsey, I wish I was dead," She whispers.

"How could you say that?" Lindsey asks her in shock.

"Lindsey, they think they rescued me from hell, they ripped me out of heaven," She whispers in despair.

"I would have stopped them if I knew. There was no way you could have been in hell," Lindsey tells her gently.

"I feel like I'm in hell, Every second in this world makes me want to die," She admits painfully.

"Everyday it will get better," he tells her soothingly rubbing her back.

…..

As he bleeds out on the floor he sees a light appear in the dim room. Buffy stands there in a creamy dress with white flowers decorating her long mane of blonde hair. She had no shoes on and seems to emit a faint light. She is smiling warmly at him and holding out her hands to him.

"Buffy?" He asks in confusion.

"No not… Buffy. This is just my chosen form," The Buffy look alike says.

"Death," He whispers.

"I'm here to escort you," She tells him gesturing a hand toward the light.

Lindsey stands up and begins to walk towards Death, he turns around and sees himself slumped against the wall, with blood pooling beneath him.

He then turns back to the light and the smiling visage of Death and walks forward, accepting Death's warm hands, he smiles down at her, and she shyly tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She turns her back and leads Lindsey into the light, a second later they're gone. Never to be seen by the living again.

…..

The End


End file.
